Best Of

@pamiede - Well done keeping the weight below the 300 mark! Please sign your posts with what you'd like us to call you, whether name or nickname, and about where you are. It helps us keep each other straight! Like I always sign my posts Lisa in AR.

Vicki - We will not give up on you, dear heart. Catch up in your own time and know we think of you often. Remember, for every single new thing you learn, you're adding another month or more of brain health to your lifespan. Please note, I did just make that up, but it sounds good! 😅

Machka - Thanks for the kidney info. I do get tired of the constant tightrope… I have to get enough protein in to keep my heart and muscles healthy, but not so much that it overtaxes my kidneys or adds new kidney stones (which I've had as well, and they're awfully painful, you're right). But all things in moderation seems to be the best I can do, across all the tightropes I'm walking.

Kim - Thanks for the short girl tips… Now if someone can rig up a block and tackle to lift a 40-pound can of gas, I can make it work! 😀

Margaret - I'm glad it echoes for you too - it's both the best and the hardest thing to learn since I retired. "It may have to be done, but it doesn't have to be done right NOW." I need to put it up on my wall, I swear.

Beth - I'm really struggling with the weight I've gained since the medication started working and I began coming out of the malnutrition from the Crohn's. I know it means I'm healthy, but I despise watching the numbers on that scale rise, and feeling my pants get tighter. I seem to be able to maintain control of my eating for one meal, but then I don't just fall off the wagon, but fall off the wagon on my head by the next one. I know how to do this, we all do! And yet somehow, it's still just hard. I fully understand how you're feeling.

Off to bed, says sleepyhead…
Love y'all,
Lisa in AR

Good Morning Friends...From Art in Bloom. Picture of the Florist with the work of art. The figure was used in what I believe was in the Japanese culture. She said it was used as a container to hold the grieve after a loved one dies. When I looked for more info they said a figure was often used to store the grief of a miscarriage. I also learned white flowers are common at Japanese funerals because white chrysanthemums and lilies, are used to symbolize death, grief, and the purity of the soul's journey to the afterlife. While white is preferred yelllow is also acceptable. I think these florist picked the color flowers she did because they went so well with the color of the figurine and the vase.

Kidney stones usually show up between the ages of 20 and 50, and they are often genetic. In my case, my grandfather, uncle, me and my brother all have or have had kidney stones. I was 42 when the one got lodged and had to be surgically removed and it was my first awareness that I had kidney stones, but when I think back, there were a few other occasions which could have been kidney stones. I remember one in particular when I would have been about 22 or 23 when I had a lot of kidney pain. Nothing conclusive came from the tests then, so they guessed it might be a kidney infection. But after the larger stone when I was 42, I began to think that what I experienced when I was 22 or 23 was likely a kidney stone. Since my kidney stones only show up in CT scans, they wouldn't have seen them in tests back then.

Chances are, if you haven't had a stone yet, you probably won't get one … but there's a small chance you might.

For the most part, having kidney stones isn't a problem. I had the one that was, but I know I have had more and likely have several right now. Most kidney stones are very small and pass unnoticed in the urine. Occasionally I will have some tell tale pains and might notice little flecks in my urine a little while later, if I look.

As you know, hydration is the most important factor. Not only can it help prevent stones from forming, it can also provide the lubrication to be able to pass the stones if they do form. Knowing that I've got kidney stones is a good motivation to be sure to remain hydrated!

Have a look at these (they're very similar)

https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/dietary-advice-for-stone-formers/

https://www.baus.org.uk/_userfiles/pages/files/Patients/Leaflets/Stone%20diet.pdf

I'll add that I avoid those high protein/keto type of diets because they can damage the kidneys.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/high-protein-diets/faq-20058207

Machka in Oz

@mfowler883 good advice there, I have used Tadin brand passionflower tea on my earlier rounds of attempting to quit/reduce drinking and it helped take the "edge" off. I did not experience side effects and I am allergic to many plants. I would make it super-strong and steep multiple tea bags in a mug and drink a couple of cups mid-afternoon, in an attempt to help me better manage the 5pm drinking hour. I'll try Valerian next at home first to see how I react.

@SurferGirl1982 I am behind you all the way in whatever your next plan is and I will honestly say I have taken breaks from this group from time to time and that is all good.

In fact I used to phase in and out of this group over the years. Sometimes I felt I didn't need it, sometimes I needed a break, sometimes I screwed up and just didn't walk to talk about it, sometimes I compared myself to the others, sometimes I felt I drank way more than most others, and like even now, I wonder, do I belong here if I am proceeding down the "not drinking for good" route? I'm staying for now because what I do admire about this group is that it is a judgment free, no-comparison zone where everyone is on their own journey, at their own pace, checking in here when they want, and using their own method or method(s) to become happier and healthier selves.